Since a lot of people are posting their entry forms here once they are accepted, I think I'll do the same. Stuff'll be updated and it will be kept here till I deem it worthy of being put on the wiki.

Empire Name:

Xenoqqi Industrial Syndicate

Creator:

Randomnator

Species Name:

Xenoqqi

Homeworld:

T'Saala

T'Saala is not the nicest place to live. Centuries of overcrowding and development have resulted in the planet becoming a hollow shell full of foundries, workstations and mass-production factories. Thanks to this industrialisation, T'Saala's atmosphere is wreathed in smog and filth that circles amongst the smoke stacks and spires that jut out of the machinery. T'Saala's upper atmosphere also contains a large amount of military satellites and space stations that take up the majority of the planet's defence force. Further down into the crust, great furnaces burn night and day, providng both heating and a means for smelting down new materials for construction. Further within houses ancient machinery of unknown origin, scraps and junk from bygone empires salvaged and stored until they can be used. There is even a rumour that there are great engines within that can make the planet move...

Size:

The Industrial Syndicate has spread its influence across much of Ravena's sixth arm thanks to a prominance of wormholes near T'Saala. This means unlike most races which govern a single area of space, the Xenoqqi instead hold several smaller pockets dotted across the arm and cemented them as a notable entity in its politics. Most held worlds are similar to T'Saala, having been transformed into great husks filled with machinery, grinding onward to fuel the wars dotted across the sixth arm. Overall, the Xenoqqi have taken 14 systems as of the present, driving out or enslaving any natives that may have already been there.

Biology:

The Xenoqqi outwardly are 6-7 feet tall, bipedal and digitigrade mammals. Their skin is dirty grey in colour and tightly stretched over their fleshless bodies, giving them an emaciated appearance. Their head is insectoid and masklike in appearance, although they have complex eyes similar to humans but with black sclera and bright iris's. The Xenoqqi are omnivorous and possess a vertical mouth-slit packed with small, serrated teeth. The hands of a Xenoqqi terminate in a 3-clawed hand, two of the digits serving as thumbs. The feet have five wide-padded toes that are arranged in a radial pattern.

The Xenoqqi have a crop of quill-like organs on their head that possess a sensory role, able to both pick up both particles for smell and vibrations for hearing. Despite their size, Xenoqqi typically have weak muscles and fragile bones outside of their muscular legs, which can give them a powerful turn of speed when needed.

Xenoqqi possess a proportionately large brain like most other sapient species which is located in their reinforced cranium. Compared to a human, the Xenoqqi brain is more oval shaped with a thinner, longer hind brain.

Xenoqqi reproduce sexually and so have two genders of male and female. Males are slightly taller while females possess mammaries (possibly a clue that they are mammals), although this is not apparent with the Slave class due to malnutrition. Xenoqqi give birth to live young and nurse them for approximately 9 earth years until physical maturity, where the child is now classified as an adult. Xenoqqi usually live for about 80 years before expiring from age.

Xenoqqi appear to have all the regular organs that can be compared with Humans, although they do have a much larger second liver that is directly part of their respiratory system, assisting with extracting impurities from the air the Xenoqqi breathe. Xenoqqi also have a dark blue ichor instead of blood thanks to a prominence of copper in it.

Xenoqqi also possess rudimentary luminescence organs along their thighs and upper arms which flare in intensity when the individual is experiencing emotional turmoil.

Religion:

The Xenoqqi officially have no religion, although small numbers of the Slave class believe that the foundry worlds they live in are in fact gods and so must be sacrificed to and worshipped. Xenoqqi of both the Working and Ruling classes generally ignore this behaviour as only lowly slaves are lost and worship is not in detriment to production rates.

History:

The earliest recorded contact with the Xenoqqi race was roughly 5000 years prior, the Xenoqqi having just arrived out of their Stone Age and had begun smelting the metal that was abundant on their then rocky and barren world. An older, dying race, who's name was lost to time had then stumbled across T'Saala and seized the chance to take it for their own. With the initial attempt to scour the Xenoqqi from T'Saala, the old race was certain that they could claim this world easily. Unfortunately the Xenoqqi were proven to have a resourcefulness unforseen with technology, able to operate the firearms of the Old race and eventually their war machines too. What was initially meant to be extermination became a war of attrition over T'Saala's surface, with the Xenoqqi hoarding metal after every skirmish and creating ghastly ramshackle parodies of the Older race's machines for future battles.

As the Older race grew to realise, the war for T'Saala was a waste of resources and valuable lives. With disgust they left and eventually were lost amongst the stars, presumably extinct and leaving few traces. The Xenoqqi however put their new-found skills to work. Still possessing a tribal-style ruling Dynasty society, the Xenoqqi created cities using both Older race tech and devices of their own making. As their technological mastery grew, both trade and war broke out between rival Dynasts. While causing the extinction or subjugation of lesser Dynasts, these interactions allowed the Xenoqqi to develop socially as well, especially in the art of bartering.

The second contact with the now civilized Xenoqqi race was from the Conglomerate of Hithe, a nomadic species that stripped worlds of their population as food sources and slaves. The Hithe, seeing T'Saala as an easy meal blindly rushed towards their prize on their great biomechanical warships. It came to them as a surprise when the Xenoqqi retaliation consisted of a city-sized craft detaching from the planet to combat the Hithe fleet.

The battle waged for months, the Hithe fleet's attempts to attack T'Saala being halted by the city-ship and its seemingly inexhaustible swarms of fighter craft. This war finally ended when the Hithe Capital Destroyer was destroyed by a Xenoqqi boarding attack, crippling several close by Escort cruisers and sending the Hithe command structure in disarray. With no orders incoming, the Hithe fleet was easily picked apart, scoured of life and the crippled craft themselves rammed into the City-ship's great furnace maw to be used as repairs.

It was a little while afterwards that the Xenoqqi truly ventured into space, discovering the large amount of wormholes that dotted the cluster of stars they were part of. Through another technological breakthrough, the Xenoqqi used Hithe biotech to assist in creating stabilizers around these wormholes, allowing safe travel and colonization of the larger galaxy.

Culture:

The Xenoqqi are an industrial manufacturing and trade race, specializing in various weaponry and warmachines. Stereotypically Xenoqqi are seen as nihilistic, shrewd and even cruel, although this is not true in every case.

Life for the Xenoqqi is divided into three classes: the privileged Dynasts (lead by the most successful member, known as a "Xarl") that own the many factories and make trade agreements and pacts, the civilian Working class that over see said factories and design new weaponry as well as the impoverished slave class toiling amongst the gears.

Clothingwise, Xenoqqi prefer close-fitting simple garments that are practical in use, although members of the more richer and flamboyant Dynasts choose more extravagant clothing. Females of the upper two classes also style their quills.

With the exception of the Slave Class, Xenoqqi are deemed well educated and skilled in the arts of speech, trade, engineering and architecture.

Xenoqqi take partners for life and both genders take care of any children the union may bear. Ruling Classes typically celebrate these unions with large ceremonies known as "Akh-Dowann" (lit. two-bonded). The Worker Class generally have private ceremonies that only relatives attend.

For the Ruling class, life is cut-throat and unforgiving with Xenoqqi either seizing their own personal agendas quickly or confined to mediocrity. Divided into large supporting groups known as Dynasts, most Xenoqqi have a deep mistrust for others of the ruling class not in their Dynasty and view rivaling Dynasts as competition over agreements with alien empires. A particularly large spat between two Dynasts can result in assassination or even all-out war that only ends with one or both Xarla being killed (and quickly replaced by the next in line). However these can also end with the joining of the Dynasts, although it is difficult for the respective Xenoqqi forced into union for the good of their betters.

The Working class are the civilians of the Xenoqqi. Technically they have it better off than the ruling class, taking the role of engineers, soldiers and overseers in the factories with little to worry about aside from the occasional slave uprising and falling machinery.

Xenoqqi society ends with the Slave class, consisting of Xenoqqi criminals and aliens (some trade partners consider slaves as a currency) that toil in the production lines making the warmachines that will soon march across numerous worlds for conquest.

Xenoqqi names are made from a Given name at birth and a Changing name. The Changing Name is only truly "changing" in the case of the Ruling Class, as it is derived from the given name of the current Xarl (e.g. Ohtanng Ohtanng is the Current Xarl of the Ohtanng Dynasty).

Technological Advancement:

The Xenoqqi specialize in weaponry of great variety, with entire worlds dedicated to the construction of these horrors. The most common unspecialised weaponry are listed here:

Plasma Carbine -

The typical Xenoqqi rifle. While it has a slow rate of fire and low ammo capacity, the Carbine makes up for this by using raw plasma as its ammunition, ensuring that even a grazing shot will burn through armour and flesh. Accident reports are common whenever a new batch of recruits is given live fire exercises.

Plasma Pistol -

Pistol version of the Plasma Carbine. Less powerful and therefore less dangerous to both parties.

Plasma Cannon -

The standard heavy armament for vehicles, drones and heavy infantry teams. Effective against both infantry and armour.

Canister Launcher -

An anti-infantry weapon that is especially useful in crowd control situations and urban raids. Can be loaded with several different canisters of gas to suit the situation at hand:

Heat Ray - a specialised weapon that can be set to different settings, allowing it to be used as an AoE infantry clearing weapon or a high powered penetrative beam. Especially large iterations can be used as atmospheric anti-capital ship weapons.

Another of the Xenoqqi's areas of expertise is automated drones and mechanised battlesuits that can be mounted with these weapons. These machines can mostly be traced back to Older race tech, with some components having not changed at all (most prominently the need for a central AI hub to relay information, without which they deactivate). The most common drones and suits are listed here:

A3 Stalker Drone - A large spider-like machine used for large scale mining, scrapping projects and other menial work. The forelimbs of each drone contain myriad tools for finer work. Each Stalker also contains a compartment behind it's sensory array (head) containing a large amount of Extraction Drones. Even with an AI central hub, the Stalker is prone to reverting back to baser programming and fixing everything in reach.

A5 Prowler Drone - A repurposed Stalker Drone used in combat. The forelimbs now wield large blades and drills for slicing through vehicles. Can be fitted with a turret-mounted weapon. Still requires constant monitoring to keep it on the job.

W9 Draconis Drone - A massive siege engine that resembles a large reptile, deviating from the usual insectoid design. Armed with a heat ray in the head mod as well as thigh mounted incendiary missile arrays.

E2 Breaker Drone - A hovering sphere armed with a plasma carbine extruding from its "mouth". Used as automated sentries for bases and sites of import.

R4 Sickle Drone - the main fighter of the Xenoqqi. Armed with a plasma cannon as well as its hook-like bladed wings, which it uses to carve up opposing fighters and turrets. It can also walk on these (vulture droid style).

R5 Bomber Drone - A heavily armoured version of the Sickle drone outfitted with missile arrays. The Bomber has large armoured wings instead of sickles as well.

Ox2-Gamma Havoc Battlesuit - More seen as powered armour, the Havoc is a suit designed to greatly increase a Xenoqqi's combat potential. The tech needed to compress the required energy and components ensures these are rare and slightly dangerous to use.

Ge14-Delta Thresher Battlesuit - A true battlesuit, the Thresher stands at twice the height of a Xenoqqi, with significantly longer arms in proportions to its frame. The Thresher's main weapon is its giant flensing claws designed to shred infantrymen.

Hb3-Epsilon Warmonger Battlesuit - Technically classified as a small titan, the Warmonger is a frontline/siege unit designed to take and dish out extreme punishment. Rare as the components to make one are usually specially made on different Foundry worlds.

It can be seen that the Xenoqqi's prominence in engineering is due to their ability to mimic components from other races and apply/improve them in new ways. Therefore it is typical to see a Xenoqqi Forge Hulk drifting through the debris of a space battle aftermath, picking the choicest scrap for use.

Forge Hulk - Averaging at about 14 kilometers in length, These ugly vessels are completely asymmetric and are dotted with turrets, hangars and engines so that two ships never look alike. The only similarity is the maw-like structure at the front of the ship used to devour destroyed ships for melting down and reconstruction into repairs or more Xenoqqi Fighters (yes, essentially these ships are flying factories). For defence these craft rely on their structural integrity and armor to protect them and possess only regular shielding (ie. nothing fancy).

Dropclaw - A pod capsule used for boarding and orbital drops. Is ringed with sharp claws for latching onto opposing ships.

The Xenoqqi also use dropships and APC's as non mech forms of transportation. These vessels can vary in size depending on what they carry.

Despite this fearsome advancement in the tech of war, the Xenoqqi sell and trade the majority of it to the highest bidder and so do not have a truly massive military.

Military:

Space -

Xenoqqi fleets usually consist of three Forge Hulks, each commandeered by a Captain and a group of 8 pilots.

Drones and Suits used: Breaker, Thresher, Havoc, Sickle, Bomber.

Ground -

Xenoqqi Troopers are the back bone of the Xenoqqi ground forces. Armed with either plasma carbines or incendiary RPGs and lightly armoured, these soldiers are primarily used as close support for tanks and large mechs. Troopers are generally sorted into squads of 10, 3 of which take the roles of squad leader, comms man and heavy weapons specialist. All members are trained in each of these roles in case of loss.

Xenoqqi Pathfinders are a more specialised group of soldiers that excel in covert ops and scouting expeditions. They are easily picked out by their minimal armour and single-lensed helmets.

The Xenoqqi Syndicate is ruled by several Dynasts of the Ruling class, each governing a section of Xenoqqi controlled space with its own wormhole. These Dynasts rule their areas through dictatorship, Xarldom passing to the most worthy child once the original Xarl has passed. Dynasts directly control all military and trade actions, effectively being CEOs and Generals at the same time. Currently the largest Dynasty is the Ohtanng Dynasty, which also currently controls T'Saala itself.

Strategies/Tactics:

While the Xenoqqi generally only supply weapons, they will fight if threatened or have sufficient interest in removing an opponent/aiding a trade partner. In both space and ground combat and when in large numbers, the Xenoqqi excel in extended firing lines due to the ease of which they can reinforce and their devastating ranged weaponry. However they are slow to redeploy and are prone to being overwhelmed against dedicated close-combat units.